Charges filed after SWAT operation

35-year-old held without bond after reports of man firing assault rifle led to hourslong manhunt

Charges were filed Thursday against Zachery Clough after law enforcement officials conducted an hourslong search and SWAT operation Wednesday in pursuit of a reported gunman south of Santa Fe.

Clough, 35, was charged with shooting at or from a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon and tampering with evidence. He previously was convicted of possession of methamphetamine in 2014.

Law enforcement officials said the search began after a woman called 911 at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, stating a man had fired an assault rifle at her during an verbal altercation.

By 2 p.m., with assistance from state police, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office deputies were able to find Clough six miles west of the home. He told deputies he’d fired the weapon inside an RV and hid it in an arroyo before leaving, according to the statement of probable cause filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.

Investigators were able to find a black assault rifle and .22-caliber bullet casing near the RV.

When deputies first arrived at the home, they met the 911 caller, who told them the man who shot at her was locked in a trailer with another woman, according to a police report.

With Clough was Charity Thomas, 50, who deputies had seen briefly in Clough’s grasp when they arrived, according to the statement of probable cause. However, Thomas later told investigators she was not held against her will.

As the search continued, the 911 caller told deputies she went to a home on Arroyo Coyote Road to check on the property she was housesitting, according to the statement of probable cause. When she arrived, she heard two people arguing inside an RV nearby and attempted to

help.

Thomas and Clough reportedly were arguing over someone stealing Thomas’ phone, according to the statement. The 911 caller offered her phone to use the phone-tracking feature, but when she asked for her phone back, the couple began to get upset.

The woman told deputies Clough fired an assault rifle out of the RV door before telling her to get off the property. He threw her phone on the dirt outside, which she quickly recovered to call 911, according to the statement of probable cause.

A Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, a state police helicopter and assisting agents aided in securing the scene around the RV and nearby home. They found Clough and Thomas after a caller reported a couple walking near a residence on Coyote Trail, located across N.M. 14 from the scene of the incident.

Clough was apprehended and questioned before being charged. He was arrested and booked into the Santa Fe County jail Wednesday evening where he is being held without bond.